I like to set some goals for my reading year. If I mean to read more of a certain author, or get to particular titles, those things don’t happen unless I plan for them.
But I also like having flexibility to read a new find or pick up something I am in the mood for or feel the need to read about.
Some of my reading goals this year:
- One Dickens book I’ve not read yet.
- A couple of classic books.
- One C. S. Lewis book I’ve not read yet.
- A book about writing.
- A book about productivity, time management, or organization.
- At least one biography, autobiography, or memoir.
- A Bible study book.
- A Christian living book.
- A book related to midlife or aging.
- Some of the unread books on my shelves or in my Kindle.
I like reading challenges that help me reach my goals and expand my horizons. Plus, reading challenges are a fun way to share about books we love. But I don’t like being involved in too many because of the record-keeping involved.
These challenges best intersect with my goals:
Bev at My Reader’s Block hosts the Mount TBR Reading Challenge, where we set a goal to read a certain number of books we already own. Details and rules are here. Bev has set the challenge up in increments of twelve, each set represented by a particular mountain. Last year I read 31 books from my shelves and Kindle app. This year I’m aiming for Mt. Blanc again, which is 24 books.
The TBR 25 in ’25 Challenge hosted by Rose City Reader dovetails nicely with the Mount TBR challenge. It’s the same idea—to read books you own but haven’t read it (though rereads count, too). The difference is, we aim for 25 and list them some time during the challenge. I don’t have my whole list figured out yet, but I know I want to read Ron Hamilton: The Man Behind the Patch by Shelly Hamilton, Bloom In Your Winter Season by Deborah Malone, Writing for Busy Readers: Communicate More Effectively in the Real World by Todd Rogers and Jessica Lasky-Fink, The Testament by John Grisham (have not read anything by him. I got this at a library sale a few years ago), The Wingfeather series by Andrew Peterson, and Rembrandt Is in the Wind: Learning to Love Art through the Eyes of Faith by Russ Ramsey, to name a few.
I listed this challenge last year but then forgot about it since it was new to me.
Shelly Rae at Book’d Out hosts the Nonfiction Reader Challenge. This can be done one of two ways. Shelly has twelve books in different categories that we can aim for. Or we can be a “Nonfiction Grazer” and make our own goals. Although I might hit a few of her categories, I’ll go the grazer route and incorporate the nonfiction goals mentioned above.
Finally, The Intrepid Reader. hosts the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. A lot of my fictional reads fit this category. I’m going to aim for the Medieval level at 15 books.
Do you have any reading goals or participate in any book challenges?
(Sharing with Bookish Bliss Quarterly Link-Up)
Stray Thoughts 
I will be reading a LOT this year and also, writing a LOT. 🙂 Have a blessed day! 🙂
May both your reading and writing be fruitful!
I like your challenges and your goals. I joined the Good Reads Reading challenge again this year but I may add the TBR challenge. I have many books on my shelves and Kindle that I want to read.
I neglected to mention the GoodReads Challenge–I do that, too.
I’m blessedly challenge-free — haha, I just like to read what strikes me at the moment. Good for you for making goals, though! For your CS Lewis read, I recommend “Till We Have Faces” if you haven’t read it. It was his favorite thing he wrote, and I just re-read it.
That’s one on my list!
Thank you for sharing your reading goals here with us, Barbara. I enjoy reading, as you know, but I don’t always read a lot of different genres. You’ve given me some really good ideas with your list.
I often had books I wanted to read but never got to–making some plans helped me actually read them. For a while I went too far the other way, with too much planning and not enough flexibility. I think I’ve found a good balance now.
I just do the Goodreads challenge. Last year, I didn’t make it. There was just too much happening. I hope to do better this year. I’m curious about books that you would recommend on writing. I would like to work on that more this year.
My two favorite books on writing are Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling, and the Mystery of Making by Andrew Peterson (that one had me in tears in places) and Write Better: A Lifelong Editor on Craft, Art, and Spirituality by Andrew T. Le Peau.
Some other good ones:
Writing for the Soul: Instruction and Advice from an Extraordinary Writing Life by Jerry B. Jenkins
Christian Publishing 101 by Ann Byle
Influence: Building a Platform that Elevates Jesus (Not Me) by Kate Motaung and Shannon Popkin (This deals with building a platform, which we’re told we need to do these days in order to be published.)
I try to read at least one book on writing a year. This year, I may reread one of these.
I love to read and a challenge keeps me motivated. I have a Goodreads target to meet but I’m also doing the 52week book challenge which has 52 prompts to aim for. Some are simple and will be easy to match books to, others are more obscure. I did the challenge last year and finished it by the skin of my teeth, reading my last few pages on New Year’s Eve. Consequently I haven’t planned out any books yet for this year – I try to read as many as I can from my TBR pile or order books from the library. Thankfully I had 3 books as presents for Christmas which will fit prompts so I have a bit of time to organise myself. Good luck with your challenges.
Wishing you luck with all of your reading goals in 2025, thank you for making the Nonfiction Reader Challenge part of them!
I thought about joining the Slow Read challenge of reading War and Peace in a year, one short chapter a day. I even found my old copy (still unread). But in the end, I didn’t start it. It’s probably a book I’ll never tackle.